Printer&#39;s composing stick



' May 7, 1929.

. H. a. ROUSE I PRINTERS COMPOSING STICK 8 2 9 1 b e F d e l i F Patented May 7, 1929.

UNITED STA TE S P N OFFICE.

HARRY B. ROUSE, OF CHICAGO, ILLI1\lOIS, ASSIGNQB. T -H. B. HOUSE 817 COMPAlIY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPGEATION OF ILLINOIS.

PRINTERS COMPOSIN'G- STICK.

Application filed February and a subsequent and finer adjustment.

The initial adjustment is desirably accomplished by means which limits the knee to predetermined positions whose spacing is measured in picas, the stick of my invention being thus capable of being used similarly tov composing sticks of the prior art. After being given such an adjustment, the kneefmay be further moved a portion of a pica, the construction being preferably such that the sub sequent adjusting movements are limited to predetermined fractions of a pica. Both adjustments together may thus serve to locate the transverse branch of the knee a number of picas and a selected pica fraction from the cooperating end of the stick.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the knee is formed in two sections, one of these sections and the body portion of the stick having cooperating formations enablin this section to be held in different pre determined positions along the stick, the other of said sections being adjustable along the,

stick with reference to the first, there being means for holding said knee sections together when they have been placed in their selected relative positions. Inter-meshing gears are also desirably employed, each of said knee sections havingone of said gears the reon, one of the gears being" operated to operate the other and thereby bring these sections in selected relation. One of said gears is preferably in the form of a pinion and the other in the form of a rack and the pinion desirably carries an index whose outer end is receivable in any one of a number of notches which are evenly spaced apart. The distance between adjacent notches is such that when the index is moved from one notch to the next, the two sections of the knee will be relatively moved only a fraction of a pica along the stick.

The invention will be more fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a com' posing stick constructed in accordance with V the preferred embodiment of the invention, parts being broken away and other parts being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is aside 6, 1928. seriarno. 252,271.

view with parts shown in section; Fig. 5 is a full plan View of the portion ofthe stick shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is a full side view of the portion shown-in Fig. 4.

The composing stick illustrated has many features in common with composing sticks of the prior art. The body portion of the stick of which a part 30 is illustrated is constructed, as usual, to constitute a type receiving tray having an end wall 31 and a side wall 32. Said sidewall has a number of rectangular perforations 33 formed theret-hrough and distributed along the length of the stick, adjacent perforations being a pica apart at their centers. I 1

The longitudinal branch of the knee is formed in two sections 34, 35which are relajtively movable longitudinally of the stick and which are held in predetermined relation, aswillbe more fully hercinafterset forth. The transverse knee branch 36 is integrally cast with the knee branch section 34-.- The knee branch section 35 is formed with teeth 37 adjacent teeth being spaced a pica apart, at their centers, these teeth being received in selected-perforations 33 whereby the position of the knee as a whole along the stick may be selected. Any position'thus selected for the knee as-a whole is maintained by the usual clip 37'pivoted upon the knee part 34, 36 between the sides of which clip the stickside wall 32 and the knee branch section 34 are gripped when said clip is depressed to hold the knee portion 35 in fixed relation to the body portion 30. The knee branch section 35 is received in a slot 38 which is formed lengthwise in the knee branch section 34. The knee branch section 35 is itself formodat one end with a slot 39 through which a pin 40, upon the knee branch section 34, is passed to guide the knee branch section 34 in. its movement along the stick and with reference to section 35 to further position the trans verse knee branch 36 with reference to the end wall 31. i

A leaf spring 41, anchored to the knee the knee branch section 35 against the knee branch section 34, as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 1. A gear in the form of a pinion 42 i is journaled in the knee branch section '34. and meshes with the other gear 43 which is in the form of a rack which is provided upon the knee branch section 35. An index finbranch section 34 presses the other end of ger 44 is fixed upon the pinion 42 and may be grasped, as a handle, to turn the pinion when the knee branch sections 3st and, are to be relatively adjusted, for the purpose stated. Inasmuch as the knee branch section 35 is held in fixed position by the teeth 37 and the perforations 33, the knee branch section 34 is alone moved longitudinally of the stick when the pinion is turned. The gearing 42, i?) is speed reducing gearing, the movement of the knee branch section 34 effected by the gearing being small with respect to the move ment of the finger engaged portion of the handle.

An arcuate scale l5 is formed with evenly spaced teeth 46 between any adjacent two of which the outer end of the index le may be received in order to hold the knee branch section 34- in the position to which it is ad justed by the operation of the pinion. In practice, the index may be initially set at the tooth space marked 0 upon the scale 45. The lmee, as a whole, is then adjusted until the knee branch 36 coincides with the selected one of the picascale marks shown at the left of the body portion of the stick, Fig. 1. If the distance between the parts 31 and 36 is to be further increased a fraction of a pica, the index 44 is turned counterclockwise until the knee branch 36 is fully moved the desired pica fraction away from the part 31, the index finger being then inserted in the corresponding inter-tooth space to hold said knee branch 36 in its finally selected position. The index 4A may be formed of stiff spring steel whose point is constrained, due to the resilience of the index finger, to en- -ter any inter-tooth space with which it is placed in register.

lVhile- I prefer to form the knee branch 34, 35 in relatively movable sections, as described, the invention is not to be thus limited.

Changes may be made without departing from the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I

' claim:

A printers comprising stick including the type receiving body portion thereof; a knee having a branch extending transversely of the stick and a branch extending along the stick, the branch that extends along the stick being formed in two sections, one of these sections and said stickbody portion having cooperating formations enabling this section to be held in different fixed positions along the stick, the other of said sections being adjustable along the stick with reference to the first, the first aforesaid knee branch HARRY B. HOUSE. 

